EXPORT COMPASS: ROUTE TO SOUTH KOREA

The Export Compass Program, which was organized by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) with the support of Coface and covering 10 countries, started with Route: South Korea. TIM Deputy Chairman Mustafa Çıkrıkçıoğlu said, "The world famous Korean companies such as Hyundai, Samsung and LG have made great investments so far and we are expecting more Korean companies to invest in our country. In fact, we should also consider the possibility of cooperation and investments to third countries jointly"

South Korean Consul General to Istanbul, Mr. Cha Young-Cheol said “Mammoths of olive oil and hazelnuts are promising sector in the South Korean market”.

Tamer Saka, Chairman of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Turkey-South Korea Business Council and CEO of Kibar Holding, said a partnership model should be developed for the two countries' SMEs.

The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) started the Export Compass Program after “10 Countries - 10 Cities” event. The necessary information for the 10 countries designated in the Export Compass will be conveyed to the meetings. The first event of the Export Compass was South Korea because the trade delegation are going to visit to this country on 7-9 August.

TIM Deputy Chairman Mustafa Çıkrıkçıoğlu said “We have to do more foreign trade with South Korea. Today we only get 2 per thousand shares of South Korea's imports. Our 2016 exports were $ 518 million. Our imports were 6.4 billion dollars. A system that one side is constantly winning cannot be sustainable. We should increase our mutual investments. "

Cha Young-Cheol, Consul General in Istanbul, South Korea, said that there is a serious potential in agriculture products and olive oil and hazelnut are promising products. "There are opportunities for cooperation in design and construction materials products. Renewable energy is also a promising area for cooperation. "

Furthermore, Tamer Saka stated that there are 300 active companies in trade between the two countries”

Bumin Kaan Köktürk, former Commercial Counsellor to Seoul, gave information about life, culture and business conditions in Korea while Emre ÖZER, Coface's general manager, gave knowledge on trade risks and receivable insurance.

At the final step, TIM Economist Ali Orhan Yalçınkaya explained the data sources that companies would be interested about Korea.